Hudson boat crash: Tragedy struck as wedding neared

PIERMONT — What should have been the happiest time for those who loved Lindsey Stewart has turned into heartbreaking tragedy.

The 30-year-old Piermont woman, who was set to marry her longtime sweetheart in two weeks, was involved in a deadly boat crash Friday night.

A body matching her description was recovered from the Hudson River on Saturday afternoon, a little more than 15 hours after the powerboat that she; her fiance, Brian Bond; and four others were riding on struck a construction barge moored south of the Tappan Zee Bridge.

Four of the boaters, including Bond, were seriously injured, and Pearl River’s Mark Lennon, the best-man-to-be, remained missing.

Bond is the son of longtime Pearl River school board member Bruce Bond.

Stewart and Bond had lovingly adorned their Facebook pages with photographs of them together.

“They were perfect for each other,” said Kim Higgins, Stewart’s aunt, as she stood on the bank of the Hudson River sobbing late Saturday morning.

For the past three years, they rented a small house together on Piermont Avenue near the Tappan Zee Marina. But their story went back to childhood, when they attended Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Pearl River. Lennon also grew up with them.

“They were all pretty religious and kept in touch through the years,” said Walter Kosik, Stewart’s stepfather.

The couple were to be married at that church Aug. 10 followed by a reception at Torne Valley Vineyards in Hillburn. They would honeymoon in the Grenadines islands in the Caribbean, he said.

“It was two weeks before the wedding, a beautiful night to take the boat out,” Kosik said.

He and his wife, Carol Stewart, went to the Piermont waterfront to lay white roses in the river at 6 a.m. Saturday as the search for the missing continued. Stewart graduated from Pearl River High School in 2000. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Ramapo College of New Jersey, then studied further at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business. She forged a career in human resources, working at Presidential Life Insurance Co. in Nyack since February 2011.